The Dutch government is encouraging universities and colleges to attract international students, because it’s profitable for Dutch business.
The following is an abridged and translated version of an article that appeared in Saturday’s NRC Handelsblad newspaper.
The Netherlands’ Ministry of Education & Science, and Ministry of Trade & Industry, see great opportunities in international students. By exporting knowledge, the Netherlands can establish itself as an international ‘knowledge-country’.
A few years ago, exporting knowledge was a means of attracting tuition-paying international students to Dutch institutions. But today, most foreign students are either exchange-students or receive Dutch grants.
Profits, therefore, are meager, but still, Minister Loek Hermans, of Education & Science, wants to attract international students. Not to earn money via tuition fees, but to intensify relationships with the foreign students’ home countries. Herman%s believes that when these students return home and reach key positions in their careers, they’ll act as ambassadors for The Netherlands. He cites Germany as an example. Germany gave a large number of scholarships to Indonesian students in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, Germany and Indonesia enjoy a healthy and profitable trade relationship.
Dutch educational institutions, like TU Delft, are keen to meet to the government’s wishes, because they’ll receive funding for every foreign student they accept, and because international students make Dutch universities more popular with Dutch students, who are increasingly interested in student-exchange possibilities.
For institutions specializing in science, like the TU, international students are also needed to fill the places left vacant by the rapid declining numbers of Dutch students studying science.
The TU’s targets for attracting international students are quite modest. This year, the TU hoped for 75 MSc. students, but actually enrolled 82 foreigners. Next year, the target is 100 students, and 125 students the year after that. ”Then, the Bachelor-Master program will be introduced for whole the university,” says Annemarie Rima, president of the TU’s International Office. ”There won’t be a difference between international MSc-courses and Dutch ones, so we haven’t got targets for that time period.”
The Dutch government is encouraging universities and colleges to attract international students, because it’s profitable for Dutch business. The following is an abridged and translated version of an article that appeared in Saturday’s NRC Handelsblad newspaper.
The Netherlands’ Ministry of Education & Science, and Ministry of Trade & Industry, see great opportunities in international students. By exporting knowledge, the Netherlands can establish itself as an international ‘knowledge-country’.
A few years ago, exporting knowledge was a means of attracting tuition-paying international students to Dutch institutions. But today, most foreign students are either exchange-students or receive Dutch grants.
Profits, therefore, are meager, but still, Minister Loek Hermans, of Education & Science, wants to attract international students. Not to earn money via tuition fees, but to intensify relationships with the foreign students’ home countries. Herman%s believes that when these students return home and reach key positions in their careers, they’ll act as ambassadors for The Netherlands. He cites Germany as an example. Germany gave a large number of scholarships to Indonesian students in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, Germany and Indonesia enjoy a healthy and profitable trade relationship.
Dutch educational institutions, like TU Delft, are keen to meet to the government’s wishes, because they’ll receive funding for every foreign student they accept, and because international students make Dutch universities more popular with Dutch students, who are increasingly interested in student-exchange possibilities.
For institutions specializing in science, like the TU, international students are also needed to fill the places left vacant by the rapid declining numbers of Dutch students studying science.
The TU’s targets for attracting international students are quite modest. This year, the TU hoped for 75 MSc. students, but actually enrolled 82 foreigners. Next year, the target is 100 students, and 125 students the year after that. ”Then, the Bachelor-Master program will be introduced for whole the university,” says Annemarie Rima, president of the TU’s International Office. ”There won’t be a difference between international MSc-courses and Dutch ones, so we haven’t got targets for that time period.”
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